Whose church is it anyway?

I often find myself talking about other churches as “Charles’ church,” “Edward’s church,” or “Petra’s church.” I bet a few people even call the Seattle Center “Kathianne’s church” once in a while. And, while I do consider CSL Seattle my church, as in the one I go to and work for, I don’t think of it as “mine.”

So whose church is it? Well, from my point of view, it’s God’s church. It’s a vehicle as all Religious Centers are, through which the Divine reminds us of our connection to God and each other. The Divine Idea was birthed through a woman named Netta Holmes and the leadership was passed down to four other ministers (I’m the most recent) for its care and continuance.

From another point of view, the Center belongs to the members who say, “I’m in! This is my Spiritual Home.” The members then take on the portion of the care and nurturing that works for them. With the 500+ official members we now have, if everyone did some form of service, we would have a well run Center with no volunteer burnout. Please hold that Vision with me.

From an even different point of view, the Center/Church belongs to the future. We are hopefully caring for the organization so it in turn will care for us and others when we and others need it. It’s said in the Bible, “before they call I will answer.” I believe that a Church needs to evolve to answer the calls that will be placed on it. If the Church is a vehicle for God to work through, are we keeping the vehicle in working order? Are we upgrading it to be relevant with current affairs? As a member of CSL, that is my job, and the job of every other members as well.